It's all been rather doom and gloom for Chelsea over the course of Mauricio Pochettino's first season in charge.

A lack of consistency, notably in the Premier League, has left fans incredibly frustrated after such hefty spending during the Todd Boehly era to date.

But hey, it's not all a case of negativity, right? The Blues have reached the Carabao Cup final and will travel to Wembley again before too long where an FA Cup semi-final clash with Manchester City awaits.

However, before then, preparation is required. Perhaps some time to regather over the international break will have served the Argentine manager well. But, how did those of a Chelsea persuasion fare for their countries?

How Chelsea players fared during the international break

Plenty of contracted players at Stamford Bridge have been off galivanting across the world in the last week or so.

Conor Gallagher stayed closer to home, starting in England's defeat to Brazil alongside. Ben Chilwell started against Belgium but sadly their club colleague Cole Palmer failed to earn any minutes.

That's a rather bewildering point considering his immense form this season, scoring 11 Premier League goals. That said, Pochettino surely won't complain about a bit of rest for his star man.

There was a goal for midfielder Enzo Fernandez in Argentina's 3-0 win over El Salvador, minutes for Marc Cucurella in a Spain jersey, while Mykhailo Mudryk helped Ukraine qualify for the European Championships.

The speedster scored a crucial goal in a clash with Iceland on Tuesday night as they sealed their place in Germany this forthcoming summer.

That said, we've failed to mention the real winner of this international break; Noni Madueke.

Noni Madueke's performances for England U21s

Madueke has endured a rather mixed spell in London since moving from PSV Eindhoven.

So far this season the 22-year-old has played just 12 times in the Premier League, of which only four of those outings have come from the start. That said, six goal involvements have been registered in the 22 games he's featured in, meaning an impression of sorts has been made.

Madueke notably impressed off the bench against Leicester City in the FA Cup over a week ago, scoring late into the tie.

With Raheem Sterling missing a penalty and taking quite possibly one of the worst free-kicks we've seen, there have been rather understandable cries for the youngster to start instead.

Well, Pochettino surely can't ignore him any longer after dropping what Sofascore rated as a 10/10 performance for England U21s against Luxembourg U21s in midweek.

The London-born attacker started the game on the right and captured the imagination, scoring twice in a 7-0 rout. Madueke opened the scoring and then found England's fourth of the night, sending a message to his boss back at Chelsea in the process.

Amassing a mammoth eight shots in the contest, the spritely young winger also supplied three key passes and completed five dribbles.

The opposition wasn't exactly great but the £30m summer signing has shown on the odd occasion for Chelsea this term that he can twist and turn defenders with great ease. This was certainly the case on Tuesday, producing an utterly flawless performance.

After a swashbuckling display on the international stage at youth level, Pochettino must give him a run of games. Chelsea have little to play for in the league and youth must be entrusted. Forget about Sterling, Madueke is the future.

England: 11 wildcard picks for Gareth Southgate's Euros squad

Ahead of EURO 2024, here are 11 wildcard picks Gareth Southgate should consider when selecting his squad next summer.

ByMark Marston